Posts Tagged: wine cocktails
As I’m sure many people out there can relate to, working from home, although a novelty at first, has definitely got its down sides. The biggest of which is missing the camaraderie, conversations and socialization found in a typical office setting. For instance, my wife Meredith works for CBRE, the world’s largest commercial real estate service company. CBRE’s main Downtown Portland office closed back in March with no real plan of reopening any time soon.
Luckily, everyone was able to work from home, but for an office of folks used to weekly meet-ups, trivia nights and happy hours, those plans very suddenly evaporated. Now that people are feeling more comfortable getting together in small groups
(and of course respecting the rules of social distancing), Meredith thought it would be fun to “get the old gang back together”, as they say, and have a driveway gathering to reconnect. I was tasked with coming up with a signature cocktail to serve and some appropriate local cuisine. So without further ado, I present…
The Tequila Sunrise Radler
(This will make one drink. Multiply out for the amount of people you are entertaining.)
2 oz Reposado Tequilla (I like Lunazul.)
4 oz Orange Juice
1/4 oz Grenadine
1 can of Underwood Riesling Radler
I found it easiest and safest to measure and mix the tequila and OJ in a separate pitcher before beginning. As the always dapper and talented Michael is demonstrating, line up your glasses—we found 16 oz Mason Jars best for this—fill with ice and add your tequila and OJ mix to just under halfway up the glass.
Then, in true Tequila Sunrise fashion, gently add 1/4 oz of grenadine to each glass, thus creating the sunrise effect.
Distribute your drinks and at this point have each party member come up and grab their own can of the Reisling Radler.
Then, have each person top off their cocktail with the Radler, and continue to do so as they consume their cocktail, adding a little Radler each time there is room in the glass.
I thought that tacos would go great with this drink and since we have an amazing locally owned taqueria at the end of our street, it was a great opportunity to support a local business and also offer something that could be easily and safely self-served by each person.
If you are in the Burnside/82nd Ave area, definitely stop into Taqueria Santa Cruz for some amazing tacos or burritos. (I highly recommend the chorizo and if you are feeling adventurous, the lenqua.)
To keep everything “hands-free”, all chips were individually bowled up, the sauces were separated and tongs were used to serve the tacos.
And it never hurts to have a little hand sanitizer at the ready for anyone who feels the need.
And once the cocktails are in hand and the tacos are plated, its time to relax and catch up.
No carne asada for the puppers…
And with these beautiful summer evenings, what better and safer way to get home than on your bicycle?
So, there you have a solid groundwork for a full evening of entertainment to reconnect with whomever in your life you have been missing. All we ask is that you stay safe and responsible and of course keep those
#pinkiesdown.
Photography, Recipe & Text by David L. Reamer. (@dlreamer)
We get it, there comes a time when enough is enough and you just need to take a break from the nightly glass, or can, of wine. While we all enjoy the culture around drinking, it’s nice to give your body a little bit of a reset. For those of us who are participating in “Dry January,” you might still be craving a fun cocktail or the taste of Pinot or Gin. That’s why we are excited about Seedlip, a brand we discovered based out of England. They make distilled non-alcoholic spirits. We used 2 of their offerings: Garden with fresh herbal notes and Spice being aromatic with notes of citrus and cardamom.
Their tagline is “What to drink when you’re not drinking.” But we think the question can also sometimes be “what to do when you’re not drinking.” Drinking is such a large part of our culture, especially when it comes to spending time with people. Enjoying a glass of wine at a dinner party, checking out the newest happy hour with your BFF, geeking out over the beers at a new brewery and all holidays! When you’re not drinking for a period of time, what do you do with your friends—go out for coffee instead? With Seedlip you can still have evening hangs with your pals. Bring out the games and feel fancy with a garnished cocktail—just use Seedlip as a substitute for the hard stuff.
While we love the simple mocktails that can be made with Seedlip, we also love our wine cocktails. If you are taking a drinking break, you may have a friend who isn’t, so we made mocktails and cocktails with each Seedlip offering. Enjoy and don’t worry, there are only 2 weeks until February.
Spice Panoma Mocktail (Recipe from Seedlip’s website)
2oz Seedlip Spice
1oz Fresh Grapefruit Juice
½ oz Fresh Lime Juice
½ oz Simple Syrup
1 bottle Fever-Tree Soda Water
Juice half a grapefruit and half of a lime. Mix citrus, simple syrup and Seedlip Spice together in a highball glass. Add ice and top with soda water. Stir until combined.
Spice, Soda and Pinot Cocktail
2oz Seedlip Spice
1 bottle Fever-Tree Soda Water
2-3oz Underwood Pinot Noir
Add ice, Seedlip Spice and soda water to a highball glass. Stir and top with Pinot Noir. Either stir again or let the wine slowly drip to the bottom of the glass.
Garden and Tonic Mocktail
2oz Seedlip Garden
1 bottle Fever-Tree Tonic Water
Pour 2oz of Seedlip Garden into a highball glass, top with Fever tree tonic water and stir.
Garden and Bubbles Cocktail
2oz Seedlip Garden
1 can Underwood Bubbles
Pour 2oz of Seedlip Garden into a highball glass, top with Underwood Bubbles, stir and enjoy!
At Union Wine Co. we love to create wine cocktails. We recently worked with our friends at Portland Syrups to create a spin on four classic cocktails using their syrups and our wine. Thanks to the fine folks at Wilder Bar for letting us use their space to create and photograph these cocktails.
With these hot temperatures hitting the country, Rosé Season is in full swing. Stay cool with our take on sangria using Underwood Rosé.
Rosé Sangria
Serves two
1 Can Underwood Rosé
1/2 oz lime juice
1/3 C grapefruit juice
2/3 C grenadine
ice
Mix all ingredients. Garnish with small slices of pink grapefruit. Add ice and enjoy.
Choose your own adventure…
To make it sweeter, top each glass with ginger ale
To make it bubbly, top each glass with sparkling water
To pack an extra punch, add 3 oz of white rum to the mix
Photography by David Reamer